Twenty firms produce 55% of world’s plastic waste, report reveals

 Just read this report from the Guardian.

Plastic Bag Charge To Increase

 Charging for plastic bags has been something of a success story as far as numbers of bags used is concerned so the forthcoming increase in charge may not have a huge further effect. Nevertheless, the increased revenue, if utilized sensibly, will be welcome.

I am aware that some delivery services still use plastic bags and some do not have good recycling schemes. I don't know what proportion of bags this accounts for but perhaps it's an area to be investigated.

A Carbon Regulator?

 As we try to tackle the more difficult sectors with respect to carbon emissions reduction and, in particular, as offsetting and carbon sequestration loom even larger in accounting for carbon there are good arguments for an economy-wide body to oversee the numbers. This is the thesis of a new report from Energy Systems Catapult. I agree that there is an urgent need for consistency in carbon accounting and robustness in assessing offsetting and sequestration to avoid double counting and greenwash.

The Catapult posits three possible forms for the body but two of them involve other bodies undertaking part of the required tasks - the CCC or EA covering measurement and reporting, for instance; or sector-specific government departments carrying some of the load. These options, the latter in particular, seem to me to be recipes for muddle, infighting and confusion. One model is for an entirely independent body coving all sectors and all policies (much as in California's setup). This seem like the best bet to me.

Climate Change - Make or Break Year

 As we look forward to COP26 there are some climate upsides to applaud but plenty of risks and much hard work ahead of us. On the upside China has committed to be net zero by 2060 (who would have thought that only a couple of years ago?); the USA is back in the Paris Agreement fold; and, perhaps bizarrely, the pandemic has shown us that major societal change can happen rapidly if the motivation is there. 

But in those final few words of my last sentence lies the rub - is the motivation there? To meet net zero by 2050 means that we must cut emissions by 45% by 2030. And what are we on course for at the moment? Just 0.5%. Furthermore, the low hanging technological fruit have been plucked. 

Now is the time for action on all fronts. Politicians need to step up to the plate (no more daft "biggest ever" road building programmes); technologists need to tackle those hard-to-change industries; and everyone needs to change their mindset. Why does that last one seem so hard to achieve? The headlines are easy: Fly Less; Drive Less; Eat Less Meat; Insulate You Home. But is the motivation there? One would hope so - our children's and grandchildren's welfare depends upon it.

A Thought for Today

 Government should be taxing stuff that is bad for us like cigarettes and alcohol but probably not taxing things that are good for us, like children’s shoes, books and green products